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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. fall — to drop
  5. lean — to bend
  6. band — a ring
  7. bear — the animal
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. pitch — completely
  10. band — a music group
  11. bear — the animal
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. lean — thin
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. fall — the season
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com